Assane is a Senegalese photographer based in Brooklyn whose work brings a vibrant, contemporary lens to traditional African portraiture, drawing inspiration from photographers like Seydou Keita. His work fuses the rich visual language of African heritage with modern urban sensibilities, creating portraits that are at once timeless and immediate.
The subjects, rendered in striking color and detail, are set against backdrops of Senegal and New York City's streets, architecture, and parks, blending cultural history with the pulse of city life. Through this interplay, Assane explores identity, place, and the continuity of tradition within a modern metropolis.
ACQUISITION
2026 Brooklyn Museum — Three prints acquired for permanent collection, NY
AWARDS & GRANTS
2026 Selected to auction artwork at the Brooklyn Children's Museum Annual Gala, NY
2026 Selected to auction artwork at the New York Immigration Coalition Art Benefit, NY
2025 FUJIFILM/Penumbra Foundation Internship Program, NY
2025 Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art — Among 15 artists selected globally, Lagos, Nigeria
2025 NYFA Immigration Artists Program — Selected by New York Foundation for the Arts, NY
2024 Brooklyn Museum Bicentennial — Selected among Brooklyn Artists to celebrate 200 years
2024 ArtsConnection Benefit — Three works auctioned, NY
2023 Levi’s 501 x Vogue Edition — Selected among 150 uprisings photographers worldwide
2019 Outstanding artist of the year — Tenzer Learning Center, Department of Education, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Dëkkandoo Yi: Visualizing Neighbors and Collective Identity — Packer Institute, NY
2024 A New Multiculturalism: Exploring Tradition Through Photography — The Africa Center, NY
2023 The Sun and the Moon Share the Same Bed — The WildProject Gallery, NY
2023 Mad King — Mimi Plange/WESHHH — SoHo House, NY
2022 Beauty in Art — Costandino Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2021 I am Black — Savant Studios Gallery(First Book Release), Brooklyn, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & FAIRS
2026 The New Colossus — Lorimoto Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2026 Black Stars — Make Manifest Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2026 Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art — Lagos, Nigeria
2025 In Between Exhibit — New York Lives Art, NY
2024 The Brooklyn Artists — Brooklyn Museum, NY
2024 Art is the Heart of Life — Artsconnection Benefit Festival, NY
2023 Levi’s 501: Celebrating 150 years — Virtual Exhibit
2022 Mowing Forward: The Future of Photography — Soho Photo Gallery, NY
2022 Static Art Collective — Summer Gallery — Alison Bradley Projects, NY
2021 PhotoVille — Community Heroes, Brooklyn, NY
2020 International Center of Photography — Global Images for global crisis, NY
EDUCATION
2026 Teaching Artist Project (TAP) — Certificate in Teaching Artist, NY
2021 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) — Certificate in Seeing Through Photography, NY
2019 International Center of Photography (ICP) — Certificate in Film Photography, NY
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2026 Wolof-Language Tour Guide — Studio Museum in Harlem, NY
2025 Artist Educator — Led lectures, ArtsConnection TRaC Program, NY
2025 Intern — Fujifilm / Penumbra Foundation Internship Program, NY
2025 Artist in Residence & Lecturer — Packer Collegiate Institute, NY
2025 Guest Lecturer — Packer Collegiate Institute, NY
2024 Guest Lecturer — Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), NY
2024 Photographer — New York Times Magazine, Making of YASSA, NY
2024 Photographer — The SIFE Equity Project Book, NY
2024 House Photographer — New York African Film Festival, NY
2023 Photographer — Nike / Mimi Plange Campaign, NY
2022 Program Manager — Jollof Films, NY
2022 Photographer — PhotoVille Park Project, NY
RESIDENCY
2025 Artist in Residence — Packer Collegiate Institute, NY
MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
2026 Hyperallergic — The New Colossus (feature)
2025 Voyage Houston Magazine
2024 Podcast — MANA on Air / NYABJ (New York Association of Black Journalists)
2024 Wall Street Journal — The Brooklyn Artists Exhibit2024 New York Times Magazine — Making of YASSA
2024 Harlem World Magazine — A New Multiculturalism
2024 RFI (Radio France International) — A New Multiculturalism
2023 Canvas Rebel — Interview
2023 Vogue